While much of the hearing was rife with grandstanding and useless monologues from members of both parties, questions from Reps. Katie Hill (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) homed in on Cohen’s long history of lying for the president, threatening perceived enemies, and alleged tax fraud and campaign finance crimes.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA)
During his time, Gomez also focused on questions about Trump’s finances. The president has repeatedly refused to release his taxes, saying he cannot release them while they are under audit. Gomez asked Cohen whether Trump is, in fact, under audit at all.
“I don’t know the answer,” Cohen said. “I asked for a copy of the audit so that I could use it in terms of my statements to the press, and I was never able to obtain one.”
Gomez also asked whether Cohen has any knowledge about what is in Trump’s taxes, and Cohen said he does not, before adding, “He has said to me… that what he didn’t want was to have an entire group of think tanks that are tax experts run through his tax return and start ripping it to pieces and then he’ll end up in an audit and he’ll ultimately have taxable consequences, penalties and so on.”
Gomez asked that if the president feared he could fall under audit, would that imply the president isn’t currently (and wasn’t then) under audit?
“I presume that he is not under audit,” Cohen said.
Full Article
